and we were talking about the polls in the balgtd ground states. it also now looks like according to other polls that pennsylvania and michigan may no longer be safe bets for the president. lynn. >> all right, thanks. last night on the rachel maddow show, nate silver talks about just how close the candidates are in the polls. >> the whole good month that obama had in september between the convention and the 47% tape, you're now seeing the race as close as it's been all year. i'm a little skeptical that it's actually tied based on the fact that obama still seems to on have a lead in the majority of swing state polls. but romney, who a week or two ago go looked like his campaign might be dead in the water, now is very, very close. maybe the debate was the october surprise, although it wouldn't be the first time that a challenger did really well in the first televised debate. >> every night rachel maddow takes on the biggest stories of the day. watch her at 9:00 eastern right here on msnbc, the place for politics. >>> a 70-year-old man has become the